FORKS — The Forks soccer girls went up against one of the strongest 1B teams in the state and came away holding their heads up, holding a powerful Adna squad to six goals in a 6-0 loss Monday.
Adna has made the state 1B/2B semifinals five straight years and lost in last year’s semifinal 2-1 to Mount Vernon Christian. Forks is an exceptionally young team with 16 eighth-graders on the roster and no seniors.
“I told the girls to be proud of themselves. They played such a great game,” said coach Tracy Gillett.
Gillett said Candida-Rose Sandoval and Aspen Rondeau, two of the team’s juniors, are becoming leaders of the team.
“They kept the girls motivated and positive,” she said. She also cited one of the eighth-graders, Katelynn Wallerstedt, for playing a good game.
Forks is being allowed to use eighth-graders on its varsity team for the first time because of concerns about roster numbers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixteen out of the 27 girls on the roster are eighth-graders, while two others are freshmen and three more are sophomores. The Spartans don’t have a junior varsity team, so these girls are getting a chance to play varsity high school soccer.
Forks, which has a busy schedule this week because games were postponed by COVID-19 restrictions and then snow, next plays at 6 p.m. today at home against Ocosta.